


(Un)bound

by Sotakura



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Knight!Eren, Light Angst, M/M, Medieval Fantasy, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Uhhh that’s like kinda it it’s a bit of a weird one I’m sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 13:17:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13614150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sotakura/pseuds/Sotakura
Summary: It was quiet here, far from the castle walls and the market and the lower villages. Nothing more than the sound of birds, the leaves rustling in the wind. The flow of a stream that was not far from where Eren now ventured. Stepping carefully between the trunks of oaks and over moss covered stones, further and further still until he reached a small clearing, where the shining sun burst through the thick canopy above.Eren halted there, in the circle of grass and blooms that lay heated by sunbeams. His gaze drifted upwards, eyes searching amongst the highest reaches of the surrounding trees. He would call a name if he thought it necessary, but Eren knew that his presence was known. Just a moment more and—Eren has a secret, with blackened eyes and blacker wings, which lives beneath the trees.





	(Un)bound

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know what happened .... uhhhh ..... here, I guess ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Five miles south from beyond the main gate, where the trees grew dense, Eren dismounted his horse. He tied the reins to a large, low hanging branch, then tugged a large woven sack that he had been transporting down from the animal and over his shoulder.

It was quiet here, far from the castle walls and the market and the lower villages. Nothing more than the sound of birds, the leaves rustling in the wind. The flow of a stream that was not far from where Eren now ventured. Stepping carefully between the trunks of oaks and over moss covered stones, further and further still until he reached a small clearing, where the shining sun burst through the thick canopy above.

Eren halted there, in the circle of grass and blooms that lay heated by sunbeams. His gaze drifted upwards, eyes searching amongst the highest reaches of the surrounding trees. He would call a name if he thought it necessary, but Eren knew that his presence was known. Just a moment more and—

_Thump_

— a soft thud against the forest floor was the only warning before Eren was tugged backwards, a clawed hand around his neck, pressing down firm and uncomfortable to his throat. Eren tried to swallow, his heart a rapid thrum in his chest.

“Unguarded, back to the trees, and not even a weapon in hand. What an excuse for a knight you are.” The voice said lowly into his ear, just as soft a whisper as the lips the brushed the skin. And then it was gone, along with the hand from his throat which ventured down to snatch the sack from Eren’s fingers.

“Levi,” Eren said, as his would be assailant moved around him to perch upon the trunk of a fallen tree. “You grow too bold.”

Eren watched as Levi tore into the bag he had pilfered and pulled out pieces of cooked meat that he immediately began to ravage with claws and fanged teeth. His wings were outstretched, enormous sprawling appendages of soft feathers that were blacker than night itself. So void of colour it was as though the sunlight itself could not touch them. It was stark and impossibly beautiful against Levi’s pale skin, a fact which Eren knew not to comment on.

“ _Levi_ -“

“It is of no fault of mine that you have a pathetic sense of self preservation.” Levi did not even look away from his food as he spoke, so Eren stepped closer.

“You know it’s not myself that I speak of. A farmer came to speak with the king this morning from one of villages to the east, bringing tales of a winged beast who slaughtered some of their spring herd.”

“Unfortunate.”

“ _You let them see you_.” Eren’s voice grew louder, enough to send a slew of birds flying from the trees with irritated squawks. “I told you to be more careful.”

“You tell me many things, _boy_ , but we both know that I will never take orders from you.” Levi said, finally setting aside his feed to glare at Eren.

“It’s not an order, it’s a request. You still refuse to let me bring you within the walls, so this is but all I can do to protect you.”

Eren was on his back before he’d taken his next breath, Levi above him and pressing him firm into the dirt. His claws dug harsh into the sides of his face as Levi held firm to his jaw. “I have lived far longer than you, or your king, or any man that walks this land. I have survived by my own instincts since your precious fucking kingdom was little more than a castle on a hill, so do not presume that I will ever need a human to protect me.”

Levi was undoubtedly a fierce and powerful creature. Eren had seen that power first hand. How he could tear a man apart limb from limb as quick and effortless as the blink of an eye. How he could sink his teeth through flesh and bone as though it were nothing more than soft, freshly made bread. But even still, with Levi’s blackened eyes merely inches from his own, his breath hot on his face and claws digging straight into the meat of his cheek, Eren could not be afraid.

He was safe here.

Levi would never hurt him.

“And yet I saved you once.” Eren said, his words muffled by Levi’s tight grasp. “When your wings were clipped and your arms and legs shackled, I saved you. You cannot honestly say that the outcome would have been different should you have been alone that day.”

“ _Silence_.” Levi bared his teeth, fingers pressing further into Eren’s skin. His wings had curled around them, leaving them in a warm and dark protective shell on the ground. Eren clutched at the grass beneath his hands, just to stop himself from reaching out and running them through the softness of the feathers. “I would have saved myself, just as I have a hundred times before. You just made my escape that much faster. And be thankful that you did, for your aid is the only reason that I have not torn your heart from your chest.”

“The _only_ reason?”

“I owed you that much, but you keep testing me and one day still by fangs may find themselves ripping out your throat.” Levi released him and rose with unnatural grace back onto his feet.

“You wouldn’t. You hate the taste of blood. Avoid it always, unless it is absolutely necessary.”

Levi sat once again on his fallen trunk and resumed feasting on the cooked meats Eren had brought him. “Keep telling me all of these things you apparently know about me and see where it gets you.”

“I think I know you better than you know yourself.” Eren finally shuffled closer, on his knees before Levi, until he was close enough to touch. “You think you’re a beast. Vicious, cruel and nothing more. I want to show you what kind of life you could live, what kind of life you deserve.”

“You need to leave.” Levi thrust the now empty sack against Eren’s chest, pushing him back. Eren caught his wrist before he could move away and delighted for a moment that the touch was allowed.

“The king trusts me, he does, but he is intelligent and knows that I’m hiding something. His trust will only get me so far, and I don’t know how much longer I can do this before it is spread too thin.”

“You seem to think I care. Your problems do not concern me. But I’ll give you advice on how to draw favour with your king again: _Stop coming here._ ” Levi shook Eren’s hand from him, but remained seated. He could so easily stand, take to the skies and leave him behind in a second, but Eren relished in the fact that Levi stayed where he was.

“I know you don’t mean that. You want me here, as much as I want to come here. You say these things again and again about how you’re so fine alone, how you need no one else by your side and yet here you are, seated before me. Every time I come, you find me. And you lie to me as much as you want, for you know I will fight it but please, I beg of you. Do not lie to yourself any longer.” Eren moved closer, daring to bring his hand up to Levi’s face who’s skin was warm and soft as his feathers. Levi’s glare did not even deter him, because it was fragile and forced just like every word he did say. “I will keep trying to convince you to come with me, until my voice is dust and my words no longer have meaning. I don’t want you to be confined to these trees, hidden away like some foul beast and so far from my home that I can not see you.”

Eren knew that despite his silence, Levi was listening. He had heard this all before, promises and temptations of a comfortable life without shadows and shackles. A life that Eren would give all that he had and was to make a reality, if only he was allowed.

“The sun is high, your king will be wondering where his knight has gotten to if you do not return now.” Levi said, eyes down turned as if he could hide the blossoming hope in them from Eren’s gaze. But Eren saw it, always. And it was what spurred him to keep trying, so that one day, maybe, that hope would shift something in Levi, something that would let Eren take his hand and lead him from this sheltered place.

It was not yet that day.

Eren sighed, knowing he indeed needed to return, though leaving Levi was always the last thing he wanted to do. He would stand and traipse back to where he had left his horse, not once looking back into the dark of the trees. Knowing that there were eyes on him, watching him travel further and further still, until he was nothing more but a speck on the horizon.

But before they could part, Eren would lean in close, press his lips to Levi’s and seal another promise like a thousand others he had whispered prior.

And though Levi could lie endlessly to himself, and the human before him, this was one honestly that he would always allow.

**Author's Note:**

> I started this about six different times over the past month, and each attempt went a completely different way but I just couldn’t focus on any of the drafts, so at about 3am last night (whilst delirious, of course) I opened up a new document, churned this out and uhhh I guess this is the result. 
> 
> Not quite what I was going for, I would have like some more coherent plot but honestly, I just needed to write this idea because it was just stumping me so much.
> 
> ALSO, this is my first SnK fic that I’ve posted since I deleted all my older ones and like comparatively, even though this is hardly ‘quality fic’, I’m pretty proud of my improvement since those ones lol
> 
> Tumblr: [Sotakura](http://sotakura.tumblr.com/) (main) // [Cutie-Taekwoonie](http://cutie-taekwoonie.tumblr.com/) (kpop)  
> Twitter: [@and_in_blue](http://www.twitter.com/and_in_blue) (Come talk to me, scream at me, send me memes, I beg lol)
> 
> Good day! ^-^


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